To the Manor Born


Fiction - Southern
337 Pages
Reviewed on 10/01/2023
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite

To the Manor Born by Matthew Speiser is a contemporary speculative fiction novel beginning in Virginia at Rosewood Manor, where Atticus Brooke, an indentured slave in the Confederate States of America, toils alongside other “indents” under their owner, Confederate General Franklin Brooke. Facing the imminent sale of his labor to a Deep South plantation, Atticus plans his escape, discovering that secret meetings of other indents, including fellow Manor indent Clara, plan an uprising against the nobles and Confederate Guard agents. Meanwhile, Liza, Brooke's daughter, meets Dale, a Confederate Guard member supporting the resistance, raising questions about her allegiances and her promise to another. Atticus seeks support from sympathizers and the Underground Railroad as a runaway heading north, while the fate of the Confederacy rests on the extreme measures the slave-owning population is willing to take as conscription and rebellion escalate

To the Manor Born is an excellent dystopian novel with a full cast of diverse characters and a world built by Matthew Speiser that is completely immersive and terrifying. I loved the modern systems in place to control indentured slaves with a mix of old-world depravity. Slave hunters operate with the benefit of surveillance chips surgically implanted in some indentured servants' ankles, drones, and pervasive surveillance amidst green energy and sophisticated technology. Speiser explores the complexity of human emotions and ethical decisions through action and organic dialogue. Love and sacrifice are intrinsically linked, whether it is between characters like Atticus and Clara or Liza and her parents. In a testament to Speiser's skill as a writer, he is miraculously able to make Franklin someone we hope to see change because he is—and this is difficult to admit—a person we feel like we know and want to turn the page on because we could actually like him under different circumstances. Overall, To the Manor Born is intelligent, insightful, and engrossing in its entirety, and I have no doubt others will enjoy it just as much. Very highly recommended.

A Thoughtful Must-Read Story

I thought that historical fiction couldn’t get better than Speiser’s Sons of Liberty… until I read To the Manor Born. The plot is incredibly captivating and well-thought-out, making the book quite difficult to put down. Readers will get to know each of the complex, intriguing characters so well, which makes their interconnected stories all the more meaningful. Speiser’s acute attention to historical detail and vivid descriptions of places and events entertain readers while also challenging them to think critically about our nation’s past, present, and future. Readers will find themselves considering our nation’s ideals of justice and equality, what these values truly mean, and how studying our past empowers us to foster them going forward. This is a must-read for anyone interested in U.S. history or simply looking for an unforgettable story.